Stochastic free vibration analyses of composite shallow doubly curved shells – A Kriging model approach

This paper presents the Kriging model approach for stochastic free vibration analysis of composite shallow doubly curved shells. The finite element formulation is carried out considering rotary inertia and transverse shear deformation based on Mindlin’s theory. The stochastic natural frequencies are expressed in terms of Kriging surrogate models. The influence of random variation of different input parameters on the output natural frequencies is addressed. The sampling size and computational cost is reduced by employing the present method compared to direct Monte Carlo simulation. The convergence studies and error analysis are carried out to ensure the accuracy of present approach. The stochastic mode shapes and frequency response function are also depicted for a typical laminate configuration. Statistical analysis is presented to illustrate the results using Kriging model and its performance.     

Managing information technology in the nineties

Business, not technology leaders should manage the change of Information Technology (IT) from a self-contained business support unit of the sixties to a distributed strategic business function of the nineties. Top management should recognize that a good business plan can only be developed and executed through the partnership between the business unit managers and the managers of the financial, the personnel, and the IT resource units. The technical problems associated with the management of IT may again be the easier part of the total management challenge.     

The State of the Art in Text Filtering

This paper develops a conceptual framework for text filtering practice and research, and reviews present practice in the field. Text filtering is an information seeking process in which documents are selected from a dynamic text stream to satisfy a relatively stable and specific information need. A model of the information seeking process is introduced and specialized to define text filtering. The historical development of text filtering is then reviewed and case studies of recent work are used to highlight important design characteristics of modern text filtering systems. User modeling techniques drawn from information retrieval, recommender systems, machine learning and other fields are described. The paper concludes with observations on the present state of the art and implications for future research on text filtering. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

建筑师难以出精品之原因分析

指出当今建筑业良好的市场给建筑师们提供了展示自己作品的广大空间 ,但其精品却为之甚少。为此 ,对建筑业存在的一些问题及制约建筑师出精品的主、客观因素进行了分析 ,指出建筑师应提高自身素质 ,树立精品意识 ,增强市场竞争能力     

Cortney S. Warren: Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award.

Provides the biography of Cortney S. Warren and announces that she has received the APA Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award (2004) for an outstanding research paper whose findings examine the potential for ethnicity to protect against body image disturbance by moderating the relationships between awareness and internalization of a thin physical ideal and body dissatisfaction. A selected bibliography is also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantification of the layer dispersion degree in polymer layered silicate nanocomposites by transmission electron microscopy

As the performance of polymer layered silicate nanocomposites strongly depends on their interior layer dispersion, quantification of the layer dispersion degree is needed. In this work, a new methodology was developed to determine the dispersion parameter D_0.1, based on the measurement of the free-path spacing distance between the single clay sheets from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. Several examples of exfoliated, intercalated, and immiscible composites were studied. It was found that the exfoliated composites had D_0.1 over 8%, while that of intercalated composites were between 4 and 8%. In the case of intercalation, a high frequency peak appeared at a short spacing distance in the histogram, which was a characteristic of the intercalation, distinct from the exfoliation. The main utility of this TEM methodology is for the quantification of exfoliated or intercalated samples with small number of layers with stacks. The dispersion parameter D_0.1 below 4% was suggested to classify as immiscible. A unique advantage of the TEM measurement is that the dispersion degree of different fillers can be counted individually.     

Interpreting the negative mood-helping literature via "mega"-analysis: A contrary view.

"Mega"-analysis was developed by M. Carlson and N. Miller (see record 1987-31249-001) as an extension of traditional meta-analytic procedures for conducting integrative reviews of existing research literatures. One such mega-analysis was conducted by Carlson and Miller to synthesize the literature on the relation between negative mood states and helping. That analysis found no support for a theoretical account (negative state relief) that had been confirmed previously by using various experimental approaches. In an attempt to reconcile the discrepancy, the logic and methods used in Carlson and Miller's mega-analysis of the negative mood-helping literature were examined, and several serious problems were found. These problems are discussed, and data are presented to show that the results of that mega-analysis, and perhaps all mega-analyses, should not be viewed with confidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of information exchange activities to actualize and validate situation awareness during shift changeovers in nuclear power plants

Shift work situations occur in almost all safety‐critical organizations, and the investigations of some catastrophes like Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez, and the Gol/Legacy mid‐air collision indicated that shift work information exchange played an important role during the evolution of the situation before the accidents. Inadequate communications during shift changeovers challenged operators' work in the moments that preceded these accidents, because they got inadequate information about the current situation. Our research focuses on the information exchange activities (verbal, written, and nonverbal) of nuclear power plant control operators during shift changeovers. Our aim is to investigate how verbal exchanges and other representations enable operator crews to share information regarding the events that occurred in the previous shift to achieve adequate situation awareness. Our findings indicated the importance and richness of the information exchange during the shift changeover process to update and validate individual and collective situation awareness, showing that information adequately shared enables the ad hoc configurations of regulation loops and a safer use of simplified strategies that can be understood and be validated by other operators, reducing the occurrence of cognitive overloads and contributing to the construction of a common cognitive ground that enhances system resilience. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

WiNoC中基于Edge first算法的流量平衡设计

在无线片上网络中,无线节点拥塞以及不同子网和全局网络内的流量平衡情况对整个片上网络的通信效率有着重要的影响,为此提出了基于Edge first算法的全局流量平衡机制（GTB）。首先优化了划分有线无线数据包的机制,减少了无线节点处的拥塞;其次根据无线路由器（WR）的拥塞情况,提出Edge first路由算法平衡子网内的流量;最后在全局网络中提出了全局子网拥塞感知（GSCA）判断机制,使得长距离数据包优先从低拥塞子网通过,平衡了全局网络的流量。实验表明,该方案在可接受的硬件开销、功耗开销下,保证较低的网络延迟和较高的网络吞吐率,并且大幅的提升了网络的流量平衡性能。     

Effect of processing on sphingolipid content in soybean products

Soybeans are believed to be a rich source of sphingolipids, a class of polar lipids that has received attention for their possible cancer-inhibiting activities. The effect of processing on the sphingolipid content of various soybean products has not been determined. Glucosylceramide (GlcCer), the major sphingolipid type in soybeans, was measured in several processed soybean products to illustrate which product(s) GlcCer is partitioned into during processing and where it is lost. Whole soybeans were processed into full-fat flakes, from which crude oil was extracted. Crude oil was refined by conventional methods, and defatted soy flakes were further processed into alcohol-washed and acid-washed soy protein concentrates (SPC) and soy protein isolates (SPI) by laboratory-scale methods that simulated industrial practices. GlcCer was isolated from the samples by solvent extraction, solvent partition, and TLC and was quantified by HPLC. GlcCer remained mostly within the defatted soy flakes (91%) rather than in the oil (9%) after oil extraction. Only 52, 42, and 26% of GlcCer from defatted soy flakes was recovered in the acid-washed SPC, alcohol-washed SPC, and SPI products, respectively. All protein products had a similar GlcCer concentration of about 281 nmol/g (dry wt basis). The minor quantity of GlcCer in the crude oil was almost completely removed by water degumming.